Let me begin with a disclaimer that I know exactly cero about the Cuban Revolution, despite the American school system's attempts at educating me on the Bay of Pigs... (All I know is that Guantanamo used to be a 50s American heyday small town before it became what it is now.)

...which would explain my confusion at who the heck Clavelito, Gonzalez, and La Maziere (if he was even real? idk, i read that he was based on some other revolutionary arms dealer) were, which in turn detracted from my reading experience.

But other than that, I love, love, love Rachel Kushner's prose in this novel. Brilliant stuff.